1. Field
The present invention relates generally to computer graphics and, more specifically, to information visualization in a three dimensional scene.
2. Description
Many computer programs use two dimensional (2D) or three dimensional (3D) graphics to represent objects on a computer display. In some applications, such as semantic net viewers, for example, a line may be shown on the display as connecting two objects in a scene to indicate a relationship between the objects. For example, if the application is a family genealogy program and the objects represent family members, a line between two objects might indicate a parent/child relationship. In another example, if the application is a business information management program and the objects represent company products and parts of products, a line between two objects might indicate an assembly/component relationship. These examples are representative of situations where a line or other graphical construct is used to show a relationship between the objects in a scene. The line is typically drawn when needed to indicate the relationship and deleted when it is not needed.
However, when the amount of information being represented in a scene becomes large, and the display of information becomes dynamic in nature (possibly due to user interaction with the scene or updates to the information being displayed), the user may encounter difficulty in understanding the scene. Merely displaying a new line connecting two objects may be insufficient to indicate to the user that a change in the scene has taken place. In another situation, one or more of the objects being logically connected may not be currently visible to the user on the display. Hence, because the scene is complex, the cognitive load on the user becomes large when things change in the scene. As a result, the application becomes less useful for the user in analyzing or understanding the information being presented.
Therefore, new techniques for displaying graphical information in such a way as to reduce the cognitive load of a user are needed.
An embodiment of the present invention is a method of conveying a relationship between two objects in a scene. The method includes selecting source and destination ends of an imaginary line between the objects in the scene, a source object being located at the source end, a destination object being located at the destination end, displaying an image representing the destination object near the source end of the imaginary line, and animating the image to the location of the destination object along the imaginary line.